ENVS 101 . Environmental science Environmental studies Interdisciplinary!
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Transcript of ENVS 101 . Environmental science Environmental studies Interdisciplinary!
Population changes over time
Hunter gatherers Agricultural revolution (~10,000
years ago) Industrial revolution (mid-1700s)
Limited Resources
Garrett Hardin – “Tragedy of the Commons” (1968)
Ecological footprints Renewable vs. nonrenewable
resources
Environmental ethics
Values
Anthropocentrism, biocentrism, ecocentrism
Preservation vs. conservation
Environmental justice
Sustainability
Preservation
Fundamental right of all organisms to exist
Protect environment in a pristine, unaltered state
John Muir
Conservation
Put natural resources to use
Manage resources wisely Greatest good for
greatest number of people for longest time
Gifford Pinchot, Aldo Leopold
Economics
Subsistence vs. capitalism
Supply and demand
Cost-benefit analyses should Include
ecosystem services and other externalities
Is economic growth sustainable?
Environmental policies
Problem solving Examples from the United States
Federal vs. state level International policies depend on
customs and conventions
Policy development in US
Identify problem and its cause Identify a solution and organize Get access to policymakers Laws established by Congress and
President Administrative agency establishes
regulations and monitors compliance
United States examples
Westward expansion and exploitation
Preservation vs. conservation
Responses to pollution problems
Early Phase in US (1)
Driven by desire for westward expansion
From 1780s until late 1800s Western lands are infinite and
uninhabited?
Second phase in US: Preservation and Conservation
Late 1800s until now Correct some problems caused by
westward expansion Mitigation of exploitation
Preservation and conservation (2) First national park (1872)
Forest reserve system (1891)
First national wildlife refuge (1903)
Soil conservation laws during Dust Bowl (1930s)
Wilderness Act of 1964: “untrammeled by man”
Third phase in US: Response to pollution problems
Silent Spring and burning of Cuyahoga River
National Environmental Policy Act (1970)Creation of environmental agencyRequirement of Environmental Impact Statements for federal projects
Environmental Protection Agency established in 1970 – subsumed many agencies
Third phase or modern environmentalism Fight pollution and its effects Human health Environmental justice movement Many famous environmentalists Intervention in regulatory hearings,
books, mass media campaigns, law suits and litigation
Enforcing a policy
Command and control Economic incentives
Tax breaks or subsidiesGreen taxes (polluter pays)Cap and trade (tradable pollution
permits)Local incentives (tax breaks for water
efficient appliances, waste disposal penalties, for instance)
International environmental policies
System of conventions or treaties Pay attention to customs Powerful organizations
UN, World Bank, European Union, World Trade Organization, Non-governmental organizations (Nature Conservancy, Greenpeace, for example)
Global environmentalism
Famous photo of Earth from space Activities primarily through United
Nations Links between poverty, oppression,
exploitation of humans, exploitation of environment